


Girls’ Night Out

by RedGold



Series: For Outlaw [1]
Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Ancient Rome, F/M, adults being adults about relationships, and fighting pirates, four badass women, playing fast and loose with Latin, pre-garcy, someone will swing from the yard arm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-12 15:59:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19576378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedGold/pseuds/RedGold
Summary: Lorena and Iris have been saved and are living in the new bunker with the Time Team. Lucy is in love with Flynn who hasn't exactly gotten back together with Lorena, but the two are communicating, so it's just a matter of time, right?Speaking of time, Rittenhouse has just gone back to 68 BCE to the Roman port town of Ostia. What could they possibly want there? Lucy, Jiya, Christopher, and Lorena head there to find out. They end up in the very precarious position of possibly changing the trajectory of the Ancient Roman world...and pirates, Lucy forgot about the pirates.





	Girls’ Night Out

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SecretNerdPrincess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretNerdPrincess/gifts).



**Girls’ Night Out**

Lucy wasn’t paying attention to where she was going. There were so many things on her mind these days it was a wonder she could even function. Rittenhouse was doubling down on their efforts, getting bolder with their attempts to rewrite history. It felt like they were going around in circles, one that would never end.

Rufus died. They fixed it, brought him back, but it happened and they had to live with that. 

Jessica was still out there, causing all sorts of trouble, both as a Rittenhouse agent and as Wyatt’s ex-ish wife. No papers were signed but after she tried to kill him a few times… close enough. And there was Wyatt himself. She thought she loved him, maybe she had in a fleeting summer-love kind of way, but it was over. It had taken him long enough to get the hint that it was, but at least he got it.

“Oh, sorry,” Lucy said when she realized she was about to walk straight into someone in the hall. 

They had moved after the incident with Jessica, unsure if their location was compromised. They were now bunkered down in an old boarding school that belonged to the State of California and been left to rot. But there was a gym large enough to hold the Lifeboat, and enough rooms for everyone. No more sofas or sharing.

“It’s okay,” Flynn said softly as she found herself staring straight into his chest, his turtleneck just tight enough to be severely annoying. 

Lucy forced herself to look up so she could give him an apologetic smile. He smiled down at her, like he was always happy to see her, even if it was just a bump in the hallway. The delicious smell of chocolate wafted towards her and she realized he was holding two mugs in his hands.

“Hot chocolate?” she asked.

“Yeah, for Iris and Lorena,” he answered.

“I’ll… let you get back to them, then.” Lucy tried not to make it awkward. She knew she failed as she quickly side stepped him and hurried down the hall to her room. 

When she got inside she literally face-planted on her bed. It was a bit over dramatic but sometimes that’s the only way to deal with things. Occasionally you need the duct tape with the sparkly zebra stripes to hold your heart together.

Don’t get her wrong, Lucy was absolutely overjoyed they found a way to save Lorena and Iris. They were innocent bystanders in all of this. And all Flynn ever wanted to do was save them. She was happy that he was happy. Now if she could just forget she was deeply in love with Flynn… then maybe Lucy could go back to being regularly miserable rather than unrequited love miserable.

She thought it hurt when Jessica returned and Wyatt went back to her while still trying to make Lucy his side-piece. She thought it hurt when she’d hear the noises coming from their room, the couple not even trying to hide what was going on there. No this… this was much worse.

Emma remembered the original timeline and would easily hold Flynn’s family over his head given the chance. They had to bring Lorena and Iris into the new hideout to protect them. But they hadn’t seen Flynn for five years. He disappeared on them in 2014. He hadn’t been declared dead or anything, but it had been a long time and Flynn missed so much of his daughter’s life. 

He said he was going to walk away, he couldn’t bring the darkness to them. But Lucy wouldn’t let him do that. He was still a good man, he could be a father again, and she pushed him to not give up on himself. Even as she wanted him in her arms, she pushed him back into theirs. 

Well… sort of.

Unlike Wyatt, Flynn didn’t immediately try to pick up where he left off with Lorena. Not that Lorena would have let him. They were being adults about the whole situation, recognizing that there were far deeper issues at play here. Five years worth. So Flynn had his room and Lorena had hers. No late-night sex to keep everyone awake.

Lucy kind of wished there was so she’d have something to help her push past her feelings for Flynn. But it would happen soon enough. Flynn and Lorena were communicating, and eventually would get back together, be a family again. Then Lucy’s heart could break completely. Only then could it be properly repaired.

The Mothership jump alert sounded and Lucy’s heart flipped between excitement and dread. She loved going out on missions with Flynn. Lorena coming back didn’t affect the dynamic Lucy and Flynn had out in the field. They could just glace at each other and know what the other was thinking. They made quite the team he promised they would. 

But on more than one occasion she had felt the desire to just grab the lapels of whatever suit he was wearing, drag him down to her level, and kiss him stupid. Those feelings had never gone away, and now she dreads the moment when she finally can’t stop herself and ruins everything.

The team was already in the gym when she got there. Mason and Rufus were at the computers, Jiya hovering. Agent Christopher was standing off to the side. Wyatt was rocking on his feet slightly, annoyed. He’d broken his arm in 1884 after falling from the scaffolding of the Home Insurance Building, aka the first skyscraper ever built. 

To this credit, Wyatt had been fighting off four Rittenhouse goons while the rest of them prevented Carter Harrison Senior from being assassinated a few years earlier than it originally happened. It was another sleeper plot, this one meant to affect the Haymarket Massacre that would occur in 1886. They stopped it, but Wyatt had a cast on his arm and was effectively benched for at least the next month.

Flynn glanced at Lucy when she walked up, giving her a small smile.

“Okay, this is new,” Rufus said as he brought up the Mothership information.

“That can’t be right,” Mason added as his fingers danced across the keyboard. “Huh.”

“Huh, interesting,” Flynn asked, “or huh, we’re all screwed?”

“Possibly both?” Mason replied.

Agent Christopher was never in a mood to humor them when a launch occurred. “Where did they go?”

“Well, uh,” Rufus turned in his chair to look at everyone. “Italy, a place called Ostia.”

“That doesn’t sound bad,” Wyatt said.

“In 68 BCE,” Rufus clarified.

“68 BC?” Wyatt nearly squeaked.

Christopher let out an annoyed breath. “Rittenhouse has never jumped back that far.”

“No,” Mason agreed, “but they are very well capable. Anthony and Emma themselves witnessed the burning of Rome in 64 ACE.”

Jiya snorted. “Are we sure Emma didn’t set the fire?”

Mason seemed to be about ready to assure Jiya that no, she did not, but then paused, as if he wasn’t so sure now that she mentioned it.

“Lucy,” Christopher turned to her. “I don’t know how far this is out of your wheelhouse, but Ostia, 68 BCE, is it significant?”

“Ah, well,” Lucy took a second to gather her thoughts. She was much stronger on her American and post-Industrial European history, but she’d taken several courses in Ancient History as part of her studies. “Ostia was a port city, very important for trade, but also, very beautiful. It was a place the wealthy and the elite might go to for a relaxing seaside vacation.”

“So it was the Hamptons of Ancient Rome?” Rufus asked.

“Kinda.”

Christopher glanced at Flynn. “Could this be another French and Indian War situation?”

“I was going to come back for them,” Flynn said for about the zillionth time.

“I doubt it,” Lucy decided, talking to Christopher. “If they were going to try to strand us somewhere, there are far better places to choose from.”

“So why there?” Jiya asked.

“Like I said, it’s a port city, wealthy elite. They’re probably looking for some information.” It was Lucy’s gut response and she had learned to trust it.

“Okay then,” Christopher vaguely gestured to the Lifeboat. “Jiya, I believe it’s your turn to pilot?”

“Yes!” Jiya grinned. “Ancient Rome. Finally going back farther than Rufus has.”

“It’s not a competition,” Rufus said in a way that meant it seriously was a competition.

Jiya laughed and kissed him on the nose as he grumbled.

“We have a problem though,” Lucy said before anyone could start moving. “Ancient Rome, as in English really isn’t a language yet. I mean, it’s a bastard mix of Germanic and Latin, but we might as well be speaking Klingon.”

“Yeah, I see your point.” Christopher frowned.

Flynn cleared his throat. “There is someone here who can speak both Latin and Old Testament Greek.”

Everyone turned to him, Christopher asking, “Who?”

A minute later, Lorena was standing in the gym with the team. 

“Flynn says you can speak Latin and Greek. Is this true?” Christopher asked her.

“I read it better than I speak it, but yes,” Lorena admitted, a wary eye glancing across them. “I wanted to be able to read the Bible in the original text, as well as other important Catholic documents.”

“It’ll have to do,” Christopher decided. “Get going.”

“Wait,” Lorena put her hand up. “You want me to go with you to 68 BC to be your interpreter as you chase after Rittenhouse?”

“Pretty much,” Rufus said with a shrug.

Lorena took a moment to let that sink in. “Okay, but Garcia’s not going.”

“Of course I’m going,” Flynn immediately responded.

“No,” Lorena looked straight up into his eyes, steely defiance in her own. “I’m not risking both of Iris’ parents on a mission. One of us stays here.”

There was a pause, a moment of silent communication that Lucy knew quite well. She could practically read the words that subtly drifted across his face. His desire to protect, but who was more important to protect? Their daughter of course. 

“Alright,” Flynn acquiesced. “I’ll stay.”

“You’re going to need a soldier,” Wyatt pointed out, obviously annoyed that it couldn’t be him either.

“Can you handle a gun?” Christopher asked Lorena.

At that, Flynn pulled a 9mm from the small of his back, holster and all, and wordlessly handed it over to Lorena. She took the gun out the holster almost without looking. Then she ejected the magazine, checked it, and slid it back in. 

“Not as good a shot as Garcia,” Lorena admitted as she put the holster and gun behind her back. “But I can manage.”

“I guess I’m going with,” Rufus said, starting to stand.

“No,” Christopher told him in such a motherly commanding voice that it made him sit back down automatically. “We already had this discussion about risking both pilots on a mission. Also, and no offense, Lorena, but you’ll probably need another gun on this if you’re not a soldier.”

“None taken.” Lorena shrugged.

“So, what, you’re going?” Mason asked.

“Looks like I am,” Christopher didn’t exactly sound pleased with the idea, but it had been hers so she couldn’t complain too much. “Let’s get going.”

They headed for the Lifeboat, Lorena pausing to exchange a few words with Flynn that Lucy couldn’t hear. Flynn laid his hand on her shoulder and Lorena nodded something. Lucy gathered they were talking about Iris. Knowing it’s rude to stare, Lucy focused on getting into the Lifeboat.

Lorena was the last one in, Jiya giving her the first time in the Lifeboat speech. 

Lucy was thrilled to be visiting Ancient Rome. It might not have been her specialty, but there was so much unknown history, things lost to time… how could she not be excited?

The fact that she would be visiting it with the wife of the man she was hopelessly in love with? That did put a bit of a damper on things. Lucy had tried to keep her distance, to not get in the way. She didn’t want to mess this up for Flynn. He deserved to be happy, to be with his family. 

Lucy let out a deep breath as the Lifeboat jumped.

This was a mission, she had much more important things to worry about than Flynn and Lorena’s rekindling romance. It probably wouldn’t even come up. 

Why was she even worried?

It was a lovely spring day in Ancient Rome, not too warm, a cool breeze off the Mediterranean. 

“Oh, this smells amazing,” Jiya said as they got closer to a market area of Ostia. Orange bricked structures lined the path, cooks and artisans selling their goods out of the front of their homes. Grilled fish and spices filled the air from these ancient equivalences of food trucks.

The four women had managed to find clothing, stealing dresses off the clothesline of a country house that looked like it could afford to lose a few. Lucy and Jiya were in Chiton style dresses, basically a gathered tunic. Lorena and Christopher had taken the Stola dresses so they could use the rope belts to hold their guns. A Palla draped over their left shoulder easily hid the weapons.

“It does smell good,” Lucy agreed, idly wondering if eating food from this era would make her sick. It might be worth the risk.

“Oh, look at that.” Lorena stopped them and gestured to the paved ground. A mosaic in black and white depicting fishermen on their boats laid under their feet.

“I’ve seen these in pictures.” Lucy resisted the urge to squat down and run her hand over the beautiful piece of art. “The city is practically littered with them. It’s such a shame though, a lot of them have been lost, destroyed by people or the Earth reclaiming the land.”

“As lovely as this is,” Christopher was much more watchful of their surroundings, “we need to stay on task here. We’re already drawing attention.”

Four women walking together wouldn’t be an issue on its own, but it was obvious they were outsiders. Christopher was Indian, and Lucy and Lorena were far too Germanic looking to blend in. Jiya, with her Lebanese heritage, was the only one who looked like she might actually belong there. 

“Let’s keep moving.” Lucy ushered them away from the main thoroughfare. “I suggest we find the city center, where the politicians and other elites might gather.”

“How will we know our sleeper?” Jiya asked. “I imagine they probably got someone with Italian ancestry for this mission. And who can speak Latin.”

“I don’t know,” Lucy admitted. “So many of our records from this time are just generalizations. Except for some very important dates, we only know that stuff happened in probably this year in around this place. If Rittenhouse knows something most of history doesn’t…”

The group stopped as several horse-drawn carts went past, hauling amphoras of either oil or wine. 

“Hey, Lorena,” Jiya got the woman’s attention and then gestured to the wall of one of the buildings. “What’s all this?”

Latin words were scribbled across the wall in chalk, not like graffiti, but full sentences. They all had different handwriting as well. Lucy recognized a few random words, just based on what she knew of popular Latin phrases and words English ‘borrowed,’ but she couldn’t really read it. 

“Let’s see.” Lorena took a moment to look it over, then began to point at the separate sentences. “This one is making a comment about the effectiveness of a local political figure. That one agrees. The other one does not. This one is basically calling all of them wankers. That’s someone extolling the virtues of a bread maker on the other side of town. And that last one… pretty sure it’s a sex joke.”

Jiya blinked, then narrowed her eyes. “Am I looking at ancient Twitter?”

“Pretty much,” Lorena deadpanned.

“You would see this all across Ancient Rome,” Lucy added. 

The carts made their way past and the women were able to keep walking. Christopher asking, “Are we sure this is the way to the city center?”

“Uh…” Lucy floundered. She had never been to Ostia so she was making an educated guess. “Perhaps we should ask for directions.”

“Okay,” Lorena said in a way that gave Lucy the impression that the woman was psyching herself up for the task. Lorena probably didn’t have a lot of reason to speak Latin, not many did. And while Lucy didn’t really know Latin herself, she understood the conjugation of verbs was complicated and vital.

A fishmonger who looked respectful enough was walking past them. Lorena politely stopped him with what Lucy assumed was the Latin phrase for ‘excuse me, can you please help me.’ She rambled off some other words, such as civitatem centrum, which was probably exactly what it sounded like.

The man looked at her as one might expect, clearly recognizing Lorena as not a native Latin speaker. But he seemed to have understood her and rattled off words far quicker than Lorena had. Lucy didn’t really catch any of it. Lorena repeated a few words, to clarify she had heard correctly, and he rambled something quick. 

“Gratias,” Lorena said and the man nodded before continuing on. She turned to the group. “This way.”

They walked down one of the main side streets, more merchants selling their wares. Lucy kind of wished she had some denarii to purchase crafts. They would never pass carbon dating and other age tests if she brought them on the Lifeboat, but she wanted them for herself, not a museum. 

“I wonder,” Lucy said aloud. “Could maybe Rittenhouse be trying to profit somehow? If they are able to steal and store gold or other ancient treasures somewhere they can pick it up in the present, then they could literally make millions at a legitimate auction.”

Christopher made an agreeable sound. “Wouldn’t be the first time a terrorist organization used the sale of historical artifacts to fund their work.”

“There’s the amphitheater,” Lorena said, pointing up ahead.

The amphitheater was classic in its design. A half-circle of raised tiers rose into the sky. There were a few people milling about the rows of stone. Standing at the base stood several men, all speaking quickly and animatedly. 

“Judging by their clothing,” Lucy took careful note of each of them, “these are military and civic leaders. The people we probably want to talk to.”

“Will they talk to us?” Jiya asked. “You know, us being women and all?”

Lucy took a moment to think about that, trying to remember exactly what rights women had at this time in Rome. She was about to answer when they heard shouting behind them. They turned and the din only grew louder as people came running down the street as if fleeing for their lives. It wasn’t hard to see what they were running from.

“Oh, pirates,” Lucy said. “I forgot about the pirates.”

“Pirates?” Christopher asked, the woman reaching under her Palla, laying her hand on her gun. 

“Cilician pirates,” Lucy explained even as the crowd got closer. “They pillaged Ostia around… well… today I guess.”

“Pirates, yay,” Lorena said with little enthusiasm, also reaching for her weapon.

“No guns, not unless necessary,” Lucy quickly stopped them. “Gunpowder isn’t even invented until—”

The military men who had been gathered in the amphitheater rushed past them towards the attackers, swords being drawn. 

“We can’t just stand here,” Christopher pointed out.

There was the clashing of gladius’ and the shouts of men. The fleeing citizens had finally reached them and it was like a tidal wave. The four was nearly carried away, trying to stay together even as they were forced to run down one of the side streets.

Then the crowd stopped, nearly throwing everyone to the ground. But as Lucy and the others were towards the front, they saw why. More pirates were blocking the street, a few city guards laid dead, their gladius’ fallen from their hands. The crowd was panicking and it didn’t take a knowledge of Latin to know that the murmurs were them questioning their uncertain fate.

“Screw this,” Christopher said, deftly handing her gun off to Lorena and throwing her Palla to the ground. “If it comes to it, shoot them.”

“Denise?” Lucy questioned but the woman was already pushing through the few people in front of them. 

Christopher picked up one of the fallen swords and it was clear she was not having any of it today. Lucy didn’t even see Jiya move but the woman was right there, also picking up a sword. 

“Do they know how to use those?” Lorena asked her.

One of the pirates said something in Latin that was probably derogatory, if their tone and body language was anything to go by. Then with a laugh, one of them moved forward for what they probably thought was going to be an easy kill.

Christopher deftly moved, avoiding the thrust of the pirate’s gladius. This caused him to stumble forward and Christopher brought the pommel of her gladius down onto his head, knocking him to the ground. 

The pirates didn’t like that… not at all. 

The rest of them, five in total, rushed forward, swords at the ready. 

With considerable skill, Christopher was able to dodge and parry the attacks of two of them. The gladius is a thrusting weapon and Christopher did her best to get inside the effective attack range. The pirates themselves wore a mis-mash of harden leather armor, so she went for head shots.

Jiya was less precise, but she fought a lot dirtier. She headbutted one man who was completely surprised, and of course stunned. He went down pretty quickly after that. The second man didn’t fare any better.

The crowd stood there in silence and watched, unbelieving of what they were seeing. But when the pirates went down, they cheered. A few of the crowd even approached, spouting words at the two who didn’t understand any of it.

Lucy and Lorena managed to get to the women, Lorena whispering, “Gratissimum,” to them. Christopher and Jiya repeated the word to the grateful crowd.

“Where did you learn to fight like that?” Lucy asked.

“Took fencing in college,” Christopher nearly laughed. “And they told me it would never come in handy.”

There was more shouting, but this of a less panicked nature. The crowd parted and some of the military men they saw earlier came jogging up. Obviously they were expecting to fight the rest of the pirates. Instead they glanced around at the fallen attackers.

The lead man asked what happened, or at least that is what Lucy assumed. Before Lorena answered, a tradesman of some sort explained it for them.

“He’s giving us credit, right?” Jiya asked Lorena.

Lorena was concentrating hard, her brow furrowed and lips tight, as she tried to keep up with the conversation. “Yes.”

“Is that good or bad?” Christopher asked.

“I think we’re okay,” Lucy was pretty sure. They would be seen as odd, but they wouldn’t be dragged off as witches or some such. She was pretty sure. 

The military man listened to the tradesman and looked over the women appreciatively. He stepped forward and started to speak directly to them. It didn’t take a knowledge of Latin to know he was questioning how such beautiful women could take out six pirates?

Lorena said something back to him, an annoyed edge to her voice. 

For a moment Lucy was afraid that would be their mistake. It was one thing to fight like men, it would be another to call a man out for his misogyny in 68 BCE. But the man just laughed as if he appreciated the joke. 

He placed his hand over his heart and bowed his head slightly, introducing himself.

“Did…” Jiya nearly squeaked, “did I hear that right?”

“Julius Caesar,” Lucy repeated the man’s own words. “Son of… um…” She looked to Lorena.

“Filius,” she supplied.

“Filius Gaius Julius Caesar et Aurelia Cotta?” Lucy asked.

“Ita,” he replied with a confused nod.

“So that’s…” Jiya trailed off.

“Yeah, yeah it is.” Lucy was standing in front of _the_ Julius Caesar, and at the beginning of his career, well before he expanded Rome’s influence and became Emperor. And she was pretty sure he was supposed to be in Spain right now. Not to mention there was a Rittenhouse agent on the loose. 

And also pirates. 

This… this was bad.

Lucy had a million questions. But she couldn’t ask any of them herself, and there was still Rittenhouse to think about. 

“Lorena, ask him why he’s here and not in Spain, um, Hispania Ulterior.”

The woman nodded and rattled off some Latin. Caesar was not appreciative of the question though. His eyes glanced between them critically. It was no secret to history that he had been a quaestor from 69 BCE to 67 BCE. But Caesar traveling randomly to Ostia in that time wasn’t in any book she had read. That didn’t mean it didn’t happen, only that the record of it never survived, or it was deemed too unimportant to bother mentioning.

Considering Rittenhouse had chosen this day, of all days, to visit Ostia… Lucy was sure this was the former rather than the latter.

Caesar replied slowly, methodically. Although Lorena was getting more confident with her Latin, she was still clearly a non-native speaker and Caesar was almost speaking down her, like one to a child. But there was still a level of caution to his words. Lucy supposed one didn’t become the ruler of almost all of Europe without being both a cocky douche and a shrewd thinker.

“He says he has business here. His tone suggests it’s none of ours,” Lorena explained. “And he’s very wary of us, the strange pirate fighting women who speak funny.”

Lucy had to be just a quick and shrewd. “Tell him we came from the northern regions to serve as priestesses in the Temple of Minerva at Assisi.”

Lorena translated for her and Caesar continued to give them a critical eye, but seemed to be less cautious. He spoke and Lorena said, “He thanks us for our help but suggests we make our way back to Assisi with much haste.”

“Tell him thank you, we’ll heavily consider his words.”

Caesar nodded after Lorena translated. He then excused himself and started talking to his men and some of the others. 

“Do we think the pirates were a coincidence?” Christopher asked as the crowd around them started to thin out. “Are they part of what… RH is up to?”

“I don’t think we should strike out any possibilities yet,” Lucy answered, her eyes never leaving Caesar and his men. “Whatever it is, it has to be about him.”

“Agreed.” Christopher picked up her Palla and wrapped it around her head and shoulders. “We should keep an eye on him.”

Lorena discreetly handed Christopher’s gun back to her. “This is Caesar though. Pretty sure he’ll notice if we stalk him.”

The future Emperor moved off, his men following him. Lucy realized that any one of them could be Rittenhouse. “We take that risk.”

Some city servants were starting to load the bodies of the pirates they just killed onto a cart. Lucy winced at that but odds were they would have fallen at Caesar’s hand so the effect on history should be negligible. 

A servant pulled a small coin purse from one of the pirate’s belt. Lorena immediately stepped up and started to rant at the man, grabbing the purse and pointing to Christopher and Jiya. The servant raised his hands in acquiescence and backed off. Lorena then turned and tossed the bag at Christopher.

“There you go,” Lorena laughed. “Spoils of war.”

“Good thinking,” Christopher said as she attached the purse to her rope belt. “We don’t know how long we’ll be here and we might need some cash.”

“We need to get moving,” Lucy said, already taking steps. “Caesar is leaving.”

They headed down the street, hoping to be as inconspicuous as possible, but they still stood out as foreigners. And already word of what they had done had spread amongst those who lived and worked in the area. This was going to be harder than Lucy had hoped it would be. 

“They’re heading to the docks,” Jiya pointed out as the smell of saltwater and fish guts grew stronger.

The aftermath of the pirate’s attack became much more evident the closer they got. The distinct smell of burnt wood barely carried over the rotting fish. Two crates of amphora were spilled across the road and they had to pull up their skirts or else get them soaked in wine. 

If Caesar noticed them following, he did nothing to indicate such. He made his way up onto a ship as they found themselves standing uselessly behind a cart. 

“We’ll lose him if he sets sail,” Jiya was the first to say.

“There’s no activity on deck,” Christopher pointed out. “No one is moving to open the sails or cast off.”

“That’s also not a military ship,” Lorena added.

Jiya frowned at her. “How much do you know about Roman naval ships?”

“Enough to know that’s not one,” Lorena said then pointed to a ship that was farther down the docks. “See how that one is longer, sleeker, with lots of rowers? That’s for speed and maneuverability. The bow is literally capped in bronze so it can be used as a battling ram. This ship Caesar is on? It’s shorter and wider, to carry a heavy load. It’s a merchant vessel.”

“Could it be the pirate’s ship?” Lucy asked.

“That’s probably the one on fire,” Christopher deadpanned as she pointed down the other end of the docks where a ship was indeed on fire.

Everyone made an agreeable sound.

Lucy let out a frustrated sigh. “Whatever Rittenhouse is up to, it could be happening right now, on that ship.”

“So what do we do?” Lorena asked her.

“We get on the ship.”

Jiya sighed. “If we were men, we could probably just walk right up onto the deck.”

“That’s what Garcia would do,” Lorena agreed.

“I think it’s exactly what we’ll do.” Lucy nodded to herself, resolved, and headed straight for the merchant vessel. She remembered that women were just as involved in business as the men in Ancient Rome. It was usually because the husbands were out fighting somewhere. But the businesses they ran included their own shipping companies if they felt so inclined.

The other three didn’t argue, following Lucy as she strode with purpose towards the ship.

There were two guards standing at the base of the ramp. They hadn’t been with Caesar during the attack on the city center. They wouldn’t know Christopher and Jiya as formidable fighters. Whether this was good or bad, Lucy wasn’t sure. 

What had Garcia told her that one night in World War II Poland? Ah, yes... act like you belong there and never let them question it.

“Translate for me,” she told Lorena in a hushed whisper before the men realized Lucy was making for the ramp and wasn’t stopping.

“Quid agis!” one of the guards called out, moving to block Lucy.

“I am Lucia of Califia!” Lucy used her scolding teacher’s voice and Lorena attempted to match it as she translated. “I am to be given an audience with Quaestor Julius Caesar regarding my shipping interests in the Mare Nostrum!”

Lucy kept walking, hitting the ramp and not slowing down. The guards were very unsure about how to handle the situation as the others walked up behind her. When she got to the top there were a few people milling about, including Caesar who was talking to what was likely the ship captain. They turned and looked right at her as she dropped down onto the desk.

“Quid hoc?” Caesar asked in a way that Lucy would assume was the ancient equivalent of ‘what the fuck?’

The ramp guards followed up behind Lucy and there was a rapid discussion between them and Caesar. They said something about the Mare Nostrum, which was the ancient Roman name for the Mediterranean. His return mentioned Minerva and Assisi. Lucy didn’t need a translation to know why Caesar was suddenly looking at her with a very critical and wary eye.

“The temple story was for anyone listening,” Lucy said, Lorena automatically translating. “I am Lucia of Califia and I have extensive interests in trade out of Narbo. I wish to expand those interests.”

Caesar stepped forward, his tone light and sharp. Lucy had heard it many of times before, usually by men trying to assert dominance verbally. Typically it was alumni and donors at Stanford who always assumed she was the wife of one of the professors and not a PhD holder herself. Not to mention all the times she traveled to the past and was assumed to be little more than a secretary.

Years ago she may have cowered… but she’s learned to stand up for herself since then.

“He’s never heard of Califia,” Lorena said, “and wants to know what interests you could possibly have that concerns him.” Her tone was very sarcastic. 

“Play this smart, Lucy,” Christopher added cautiously. “These men are a lot more trained than those pirates were.” 

“Eh,” Jiya shrugged. “I can take ‘em.”

“In my dealings, I believe to have discovered a threat to the quaestor,” Lucy continued. “I did not want to discuss it in public.”

After hearing Lorena’s translation, he asked what the threat was.

Lucy went all in. “That one of your men is a murderer and a traitor.”

Caesar stepped forward and asked something very carefully.

“He wants to know who it is and what evidence that you have,” Lorena said.

Now Lucy was afraid she showed her hand too quickly, but she knew, she just knew, that one of these men was the Rittenhouse agent. She had gone on these missions enough that she could feel their smarminess in her bones. But as she glanced across them, nothing stood out immediately. Not even the tell-tale signs of a modern haircut among them.

She supposed she could check their teeth, but logistics aside, that made her feel repulsed to even think about.

Someone started shouting from the raised portion at the bow of the ship. Caesar’s attention immediately turned to the noise and he ran up the steps, shouting as he went. Two of his men pulled out their gladius and held them on Lucy and the others as sailors worked around them.

“They’re setting the sails,” Christopher said cautiously.

“There’s more pirates coming,” Lorena explained.

The boat lurched as it started to push away from the docks. Caesar came rushing down, shouting orders left and right. There was organized chaos made worse by the fact Lucy could only maybe understand every fifth word and nothing made sense.

Caesar grabbed her arm and dragged her towards a door at the back of the ship.

“He only wants us to hide down below,” Lorena shouted before Jiya and Christopher ended up completely changing the trajectory of Western Civilization. “It’s just male chauvinism.”

Unfortunately, Lucy knew what it felt like to be man-handled by someone wanting to kill her and someone just wanting her out of the way. Caesar definitely seemed the latter and so she let herself be pushed through the door to descend down into the hold. 

Christopher turned on Lorena once they were below. The area lit by light coming in through the square opening above. “What is going on out there?”

“Three more pirate ships entered the bay, Caesar thinks they’re after this ship,” Lorena explained. 

Lucy was only half listening as she was curious about the cargo. It was a lot of boxes sitting underneath a canvas like cloth. 

“Was the first attack to weaken the defenses?” Jiya asked.

“Possibly?” Lorena shrugged.

Curiosity getting the better of herself, Lucy lifted up the fabric at one of the corners. It wasn’t boxes, but blocks. What she saw made her gasp.

“Lucy?” Christopher was immediately at her side. “What’s wrong?”

“If the pirates know this is here,” Lucy pulled the fabric back father, “then Caesar is going to be in for the fight of his life.”

Jiya ran the back of her thumb nail across one of the blocks. “It’s salt.”

“Yes… and it’s worth its weight in gold.”

“It’s _salt_ ,” Jiya reiterated.

“It was an extremely valued resource in ancient times,” Lucy explained. “It can be bartered with, used to pay soldiers, although it’s debatable if it ever actually was.”

Lorena nearly smacked her head. “Salt is sal, and it’s where we get salary from. Salārium argentum, or, crudely, salt money.”

“You can use salt for flavor of course,” Lucy continued. “But also as a preservative, and for cleaning.... I mean, the uses of salt are endless.”

Christopher gave a dour expression. “You don’t need to explain the importance of salt and spices to me.”

The boat rocked, hard, and the wood creaked as dust was shook from it. The shouting only got louder.

“I think we’re about to be boarded,” Jiya said ominously.

"Are we really just going to sit down here and wait?” Christopher moved around the boxes to get a better look up through the loading opening. 

“We’ll be okay because Caesar obviously survives this, right?” Lorena said, looking between them. “That’s history. It’s not going to change.”

“Just because something isn’t recorded doesn’t mean it didn’t happen,” Lucy pointed out. “Caesar has been taken for ransom by pirates before, this could be a second time that doesn’t get a mention.”

“I don’t really want to be taken captive by pirates,” Jiya shuddered, likely thinking of her time stuck in Chinatown.

“We got bigger problems,” Christopher called over. She was squatted down next to the cargo for a closer look. “There’s reciprocating lines on these salt blocks. I’m pretty sure they were cut with modern tools.”

“Oh no,” Lucy whispered as she ran that through her head. “Rittenhouse brought these here as a way to get their sleeper into favor with Caesar. None of this was supposed to happen.”

“What does that mean?” Lorena asked as if she knew the answer and was afraid of it.

A man screamed and fell through the hold, landing on the covered blocks of salt. Whether he was dead before he hit, or because of the impact, Lucy didn’t know. He was certainly dead now. He also wasn’t a pirate, but one of the ship’s crew. The battle had started and their side was already at least one man down. 

“Screw this,” Christopher said as she grabbed the man’s sword. 

The woman didn’t have to explain what she was doing. She jogged over to the stairs and made her way back up, the others following closely behind.

Christopher stopped at the doorway, using it as cover to judge the situation. They had indeed been boarded by several pirates. One of the pirate ships was alongside the cargo vessel. A plank with hooks on the end was laid across to give the pirates access to their quarry. Caesar’s men were grossly outnumbered, but much better armed and trained.

It was anyone’s guess how this would play out.

“They need help,” Christopher decided. “I’m going in.”

“Right behind ya.” Jiya was on the other side of the frame, eyeing a gladius laying on the ground.

“Hopefully it won’t come to it,” Christopher said as she moved in preparation to dash out, “but if we start to lose, just start shooting.”

She didn’t wait for a response from Lorena, simply rushed into the fray, swinging the gladius as she went. Jiya followed quickly after, snatching up her own weapon only to bum-rush a pirate, striking his center mass with her shoulder and knocking him down.

Lucy and Lorena took up positions on both sides of the doorframe, watching. Lucy really hoped the pirates would focus on the crew and not go looking for their treasure just yet. But Lucy had seen every Horatio Hornblower movie and was pretty sure they would want to capture the whole ship, not just the salt. That meant taking out the crew, or at least their leader, first.

The ship rocked violently again, the sound of snapping timber frightening in its implications.

“Oh, shit,” Lorena mumbled as they both watched as the two ship’s sails got caught on each other. 

One of the horizonal timbers that held the sails, known as a yard, had snapped. The sail drooped down, ropes getting caught and swinging wildly. The ship itself continued to jostle violently as the sail was now misshapen, catching wind. This was exacerbated by the fact the two ships were still connected via the plank.

Lorena was listening to one of the men yelling, but everyone was too busy fighting. “The sails are still caught on each other, if they’re not broken free...”

“What are you doing?” Lucy asked as Lorena started to rip the skirt of her dress off at the knees.

“He needs help and everyone is a little preoccupied.” The dress at a more manageable length, she handed her gun over to Lucy. “It looks like we’re winning, for now.”

Lucy didn’t have a second to argue with the woman about how crazy it was to not only run into a battle without a weapon, but to try to fix a main sail in the middle of one. But Lorena ducked and dodged and met up with the guy who had been shouting. A few short words were exchanged and then both of them were climbing up the ropes. 

She tried to watch Lorena’s progress as she reached the broken yard arm but the pirates were making one last big push and it was right in Lucy’s direction. Christopher was at the front, with Caesar, spinning her gladius around like a real Xena: Warrior Princess. Jiya was fighting a hell of a lot dirtier. Last Lucy saw she had kneed a man between the legs and smacked his head with a heavy wooden bucket.

Standing there, watching, she felt a bit helpless. But then, she was never brought in for her fighting skills. Not even Rittenhouse expected that of her. No, her strength was in her intelligence, her ability to plan and adapt. If that meant getting into a fight, well, that’s what she had Flynn for. 

There was another crack of wood. This time it was the main sail coming loose from the pirate ship. But with that thankful piece of news came something possibly worse. 

“Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!” Lorena could be heard shouting, her voice dopplering as she fell from the yard arm into the Mediterranean.

“Lorena!” Lucy shouted uselessly. Absolute dread settled in her stomach. The fall wasn’t much higher than an Olympic diving platform, but if she hit the water wrong, or couldn’t swim... 

Lucy dodged out to the starboard side where Lorena fell. Hitting the railing, she leaned over as far as she dared, looking for any sign of the woman. 

“Lorena!” Lucy shouted when she saw her treading water. 

“Lucy!” She shouted back, trying to keep her head above the cresting waves created by the two ships. They were large enough that they threatened to send the woman under.

“I’ll get a rope!” Lucy found one of the mooring lines laying haphazard as it never got properly stored in the rush. Grabbing it, she threw it over side and hoped that the notch it was tied to would hold.

The rope hit the water as Lorena was swimming towards the ship, fighting the waves. She grabbed the rope and took a minute to catch her breath. Wrapping the rope around one arm, she planted her feet on the wood and began to walk/pull herself up. She slipped a couple of times and was edging exhaustion. 

Caesar and another man pushed Lucy out of the way and grabbed the rope. Lorena got pulled up and over the railing, then collapsed onto her rear, leaning back against the rail. She was soaking wet, shaking a bit, but otherwise looked unharmed. 

A few words were passed back and forth in Latin between Lorena and Caesar. Lucy glanced around, noting the bodies that lined the deck as crewmen unhooked the two ships. It looked like the battle was won. 

“What happened here?” Christopher asked as she and Jiya approached, looking both tired and invigorated.

“It’s a nice day.” Lorena shrugged. “Thought I'd go for a swim.”

Someone produced a blanket and Caesar handed it to the soaked through woman. She thanked him and then wrapped it around her shoulders, making no move to get up.

Caesar said something and moved away, Lorena translating. “They’re securing the pirate ship and fixing the yard arm. We’re going to be floating out here for a little bit.”

“The other ships?” Christopher asked.

A loud cracking echoed across the water. The Roman triremes were attacking the pirate ships, one getting the full brunt of the bronze capped bow. The damaged ship listed and was soon going to become another nameless wreck in the harbor.

“Nevermind,” Christopher said dourly.

“Let’s see if they need any help fixing the ship,” Jiya told her. “Maybe we can get a clue as to who our sleeper is.”

Although they didn’t speak Latin, there is a universal language in pointing and gestures. Lucy was going to join them when Lorena said, “Thank you, for the rope.”

“We’re a team.” Lucy shrugged. “We look out for each other.”

“I knew that, but it’s comforting to see in action,” she said quietly. “Iris just got her father back. I don’t want her to lose him again.”

“You got your husband back, too,” Lucy said just as quietly, letting the pain wash over her like a wave and then dissipate. She was happy for Flynn, he deserved to have his family, to feel loved...

Lorena let out a sad laugh. “I got Garcia Flynn back. My husband... he’s... gone.”

At those words, Lucy found herself sitting down next to the woman, trying to be encouraging. “You mustn't think like that. Yes, these events changed him, but he’s still the good man you married. He still loves you.”

“He loves me, yes.” Lorena looked over at her, not a hint of unsurety in her face. “But he’s not _in_ love with me anymore. And truth is, I’m not in love with him anymore either.”

How could someone not be in love with Flynn, Lucy couldn’t fathom, but this wasn’t about her own feelings for the man. “You were separated for a long time. You just need a little bit more time to... to fit the pieces back together.”

“That’s the problem, isn’t?” Lorena laid her head back against the railing and looked up at the billowing sail. “We both got put through a fire. His was far more intense, but I had to raise Iris on my own and Garcia was always better at being the parent. Now both our pieces... they’ve been heated, tempered, and hammered. They just don’t fit together anymore.”

“It doesn’t mean you can’t reshape them back,” Lucy offered, not willing to let her give up so easily. Flynn deserved more than that.

“We tried,” there was an undercurrent of resigned sadness to everything she said. “We dipped our toes back into that water and found it to be lukewarm.”

“You can’t give up,” Lucy said more forcefully than she realized.

“Of course we can,” Lorena said simply. “How many people would be so much happier if they just accepted when it was time to give up and move on?”

Something stung at Lucy from left field. Memories of her failed relationship with Wyatt. Of Wyatt and Jess’ marriage being a disaster since nearly the beginning. The unhealthy dependency. It had scarred them all up pretty well. Even her leading Noah on, as unintentional as it has been, probably did more damage than if she had just broke it off more cleanly.

“He struggles with Iris, you know,” Lorena kept talking to the sky and sails. “He wants to be there for her but sometimes he... all he can see is her bloody and dead. And I know he sees me the same way, when the PTSD hits.”

“He mentioned that...” Lucy said softly. “We talk, during our missions.”

“It helps. He’s working on it, getting better.” Lorena managed a thankful smile. “But Iris is more important, I don’t need to be getting in the way of that recovery. And if I'm honest, I look at him, and I see a man who could die on me at any moment. Every time he gets into that machine...” Her smile dropped as tears threatened her eyes. “It used to not bother me. I know the kind of man I married, what I was signing up for, but now that I lost him once, my heart can’t take losing him again.”

“And you can’t lose what you don’t have...”

“Exactly.”

They sat together as the salty wind breezed across the deck. Men scrambled around, getting everything back into shape. 

“Rittenhouse did this,” Lorena eventually uttered quietly. “ _They_ destroyed my marriage. It was no fault of Garcia, of me, of... of anyone but them. But if the alternative is for Iris to be... then we’ll take this a thousand times over.”

“The things we do for the people we love...” Lucy whispered.

“Yeah...”

The sun was starting to slowly reach the horizon, the sky darkening at a leisurely pace. It would have been a lovely evening on the Mare Nostrum if not for the dead pirates and the threat of Rittenhouse changing the course of Ancient Rome hanging over their heads.

“Yard arm is fixed,” Lorena confirmed what Lucy had already assumed by how everyone was acting. “We’ll be heading back to port in a moment.”

“Caesar is going to want a lot of answers,” Lucy murmured. She had avoided him for this long, but he would likely want to pick up their conversation from earlier. 

The two women stood from their place against the railing, Lorena still hugging the blanket around herself. They walked over to where Christopher and Jiya were finishing up helping. 

“Any luck?” Lucy asked. 

“Whoever the sleeper is, he’s good.” Christopher was clearly annoyed. “He’s not slipped up, that we can see.”

“So what do we do now?” Lorena asked.

Lucy glanced around, noting that all of Caesar’s men was still on the ship. Only a handful of sailors stayed behind on the pirate ship to take it back to port. Those sailors were unlikely to be Rittenhouse as they were just hired to transport the goods. No, if the sleeper was there, he would be one of the men Caesar had with him. Whomever got him the salt. But Lucy couldn’t just come out and say that... she had no evidence of wrongdoing. 

“I suppose we only have once choice now,” Lucy sighed, not bothering to lower her voice. “We sink the ship and the men with it.”

All three women looked at her sharply, Christopher saying. “Lucy?”

“No, it’s a good idea,” Lorena caught on quickly. “We’ll save... you know who though, right?”

Lucy nodded. “Of course.”

“But what if the sleeper isn’t here?” Jiya asked, rolling with it. 

“Then at least we get rid of the salt,” Lucy answered with a shrug. “Either way, it puts a dent in... RH’s plans.”

“You can’t be serious?” Christopher said incredulously, but not as much as she would under normal circumstances, not that the sleeper would know that.

“What other choice do we have?” Lucy matched the level of conviction. “However we can stop them, hurt them, then we do it.”

Christopher looked between Lorena and Jiya. “You two okay with this?”

“They murdered my daughter,” Lorena said coldly. 

“No love lost here.” Jiya wiped her hands of any guilt.

“Alright,” Christopher let out a long breath. “How do we do this?”

Lucy had to think about it for a second. What was a convincing plan of attack? “We lock the men below, then steer the ship into one of the triremes. One of the ones close to shore. The ship will break apart, sink, and we’ll swim to shore and get back to the Lifeboat.”

“And you know who?” Christopher asked.

“I’m the only one who can talk to him,” Lorena pointed out. “I’ll lure him to the other end of the ship while you get the men below. I’ll knock him out enough to tie him up, and then we’ll untie him just before we crash the ship.”

Christopher raised a brow. “And while you’re doing that, how do we get the men below?”

“You’re three beautiful women,” there was an underlying duh to Lorena’s statement. “I’m sure you can figure it out.”

“Okay.” Jiya raised her hand. “I’ll take my shirt off and flash my boobs but no one tells Rufus.”

“That’s fair,” Lucy agreed, then addressed all of them. “Are we ready?”

There was a general nod of yes, they were ready to do whatever it took to stop Rittenhouse. 

“Caesar?” Lorena called out. “Modo tempus?”

The man was overseeing the preparations to return to shore. With a slightly annoyed huff he turned to Lorena and said, “Quid est?”

As she began to speak to him, she gestured slightly that he should walk with her, down the length of the ship. They only got two steps when one of his men grabbed him by the arm and started to speak in hushed and conspiratorial tones.

Caesar frowned and looked to Lorena. Lucy couldn’t understand what he said but his face read something to the effect of, “Is this true?”

Lorena made a herm sound. “It seems this gentleman believes we are untrustworthy.”

“Does he now?” Lucy walked up to them slowly, unthreatening, but with purpose. “Why would he, all of a sudden?”

“One would think he understood us,” Lorena said as she looked him dead in the eyes. Then she spoke to Caesar. “Hic vir loquitur Inglés.”

“Hoc est verum?” Caesar turned to the man. “Tu loqueris… haec Inglés?”

“Ita,” the man replied, realizing he walked right into their trap. They would never sink the ship with everyone on board, but the sleeper didn’t know that.

Latin was spouted back and forth and Lucy had to trust Lorena was as good and clever with her words as she needed to be to win over Caesar. From what Lucy knew of the woman, and the fact she held toe to toe with Flynn for years, Lucy wasn’t terribly worried. 

She heard the word sal a few times, and vague gestures to the hold. Lorena hopefully sowing seeds of doubt as to the man’s intentions by giving it to Caesar. The sleeper got defensive while Caesar started to question his motives. The whole thing was about to dissolve into a yelling match… which could be good or bad…

“Quinque annorum filia mi caedibus annos!” Lorena said coldly, there was no mistaking what she said by the pain in her voice and the five fingers she held up.

“And my sister,” Lucy spoke up. “I lost my sister because of them.”

Lorena pointed back at her. “Et soror Amata.”

“And don’t forget Rufus,” Jiya jumped in. They had saved Rufus, like Lorena and Iris, but they all had been murdered by Rittenhouse who didn’t so much as bat an eye.

“Et viro Rúfus,” Lorena added for her. 

“They tried to murder me,” Christopher reminded them of their trip to 1981.

“Et occidit ei conati sunt.”

The entire crew and other soldiers were now watching the events unfold. A couple of seemingly neutral statements being thrown about, if their tones were anything to judge by.

The sleeper said something while opening his hands and shrugging his shoulders in that universal bro-code fashion. He was telling Caesar to trust him, not these crazy, emotional women. After all, he’s the guy who just gave him all that salt. 

Caesar glanced between them and the sleeper, carefully considering everything that had just been said. The wind picked up slightly, ruffling the sail, but hardly anyone noticed.

After what was an agonizingly long wait of ten seconds, Caesar placed his hand on the sleeper’s shoulder and nodded. Of course he was going to trust the man over the women. Lucy’s throat tightened at the same speed the sleeper relaxed. 

But Caesar was even quicker.

A blade was in Caesar’s other hand and he drove it up and under the sleeper’s armor, slicing at his gut. 

“Non patiar proditionem,” Caesar nearly growled into the sleeper’s ear as he twisted the blade.

…

Lorena was the first one off the Lifeboat, quickly treading the stairs to get to her daughter at the bottom. She squatted down so she could hug Iris tight. “Missed you, my little Koala.”

Lucy watched the exchange as she stepped a little more sensibly down the stairs. Flynn was smiling down at his daughter and… wife-ish? She could see it now, though she could see it before, just not let herself believe it. Flynn loved them, they were his family, but there was no longing or romance when he looked to Lorena. 

He had the eyes of a man who would kill to protect those he loved, be it his daughter, or his friends…

As Lucy got to the last step, he glanced over at her. His smile turned a little more crooked and his eyes perhaps even softer. Such a dichotomy couldn’t exist and Lucy swore she was mistaken as she moved out of the way of Christopher and Jiya descending.

“Mom, why do you smell like the ocean?” Iris asked after Lorena finally stopped hugging her.

“I went for a swim in the Mediterranean Ocean.” It technically wasn’t a lie.

“Jiya, your dress is torn,” Rufus said after taking his own moment to kiss his girlfriend. “And is that… blood?”

“Oh, I thought I got it all out.” Jiya frowned and started uselessly rubbing at the cloth. 

Mason tilted his head at Christopher. “Is that… a gladius hanging from your belt?”

“It was a gift, from Caesar,” she replied in her typical dry way.

“Wait, _the_ Julius Caesar?” Mason nearly went bug-eyed. “ _Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once._ Caesar?”

“He wasn’t really that eloquent,” Lorena said as she stood. “But he still has some years to go.”

Wyatt finally joined the conversation. “Why would Caesar give you a sword?”

“A gladius,” Mason and Lorena both corrected him.

“Just a thank you for helping dispatch all the pirates,” Christopher said, then started to walk towards the door. “I’m thirsty, anyone else want a bottle of water?”

“Wait, pirates?” Flynn said, glancing between all of them. “You got to fight pirates?”

“Yep!” Jiya nearly laughed. “On a merchant ship too!”

Flynn looked absolutely scandalized at this news. Wyatt and Rufus also looked like they took a hefty dose of envy pills.

“And I,” Lorena chuckled at herself. “I literally swung from the yard arm and fell into the ocean and had to get fished out.”

“What?” Flynn was a little more alarmed at that.

“Relax.” She put her hand on his shoulder. “Lucy was there. She threw me a rope.”

Flynn’s gaze slide back to Lucy and there was a thankfulness there, of course. But there was also pride and a sense of ‘that’s my girl’ that she had seen in him before.

“Pirates,” Wyatt let out a sharp breath of almost disbelief. “Yard Arms, Gladius’ bestowed by Julius Caesar…”

“Yeah,” Rufus slid in and held out the vowel. “Ya’ll gonna need to tell us the whole story here.”

“Jealously doesn’t suit you,” Jiya teased Rufus.

“I’m not… pfft… jealous, of course not.” The nervous laugh that followed said otherwise.

The group started to head towards the same door Christopher exited from. Soon they would be all sitting around the lounge area, drinking beers (or in Iris’ case, chocolate milk), and telling the story of how they saved Julius Caesar from pirates and a Rittenhouse plot.

Flynn sat on one of the sofas, Iris between him and Lorena. Lucy watched them, thinking about all the things Lorena had told her, about how they weren’t together anymore. About how they were two different people now and it was better to not try to grab at something that was lost. They were friends with the shared goal of making sure Iris lives a full and happy life.

Lucy found herself staring at Flynn, daring not to think of what this meant about her own feelings towards Flynn. Did she dare act on them? Just because Flynn wasn’t in love with Lorena didn’t mean he had romantic feelings towards herself.

Rufus said something funny and everyone got a right good chuckle out of it. 

So bright and carefree, Flynn’s smile was like sunshine and it always seemed to find its way to shine on her. As he looked at Lucy, that tilt to his lips and crinkle in his eyes, she decided she would stop pressing him into Lorena’s arms. They had already decided that wasn’t where they wanted to be, and Lucy should respect that.

And maybe… just maybe… Flynn might find his way into hers…

Puella potes semper spero.


End file.
